Tag: CBD for Cancer

So when the hype dies down, will the cannabidiol (CBD) market still be booming? Absolutely. That is because there is serious and sound scientific research currently underway. Just recently, the FDA approved Epidiolex, which is made of pure CBD, and recommended that the DEA reclassify the pharmaceutical to Schedule V instead of Schedule I. That is an obvious sign of where the industry is going.

All of this hard work done by grassroots activists, and now big pharma steps in to take the glory. But let’s not be bitter about this, because at the end of the day we want to give people the gift of healing. CBD in conjunction with other cannabinoids can do just that.

There are many scientific research projects focusing on the medicinal benefits of CBD. Here are 5 illnesses CBD can heal.

Epilepsy in Children

There is a silver lining regarding the Epidiolex approval. Epidiolex is purified CBD, while products sold in stores like the CBD Online Store are CBD rich extracts with full spectrum cannabinoids. A new research report, which was released last month (September 2018), states that there is more benefits to CBD rich extracts over purified CBD products for the treatment of epilepsy. I am assuming, one is patentable (purified) and one is not (full spectrum cannabinoids). Nonetheless, it looks like the market will remain open for competition.

The results of efficacy in the studied population suggest that treatment with CBD-based products significantly reduces seizure frequency, even for this otherwise treatment-resistant population. According to the analysis of “reported improvement,” which means, any improvement reported in the selected papers, almost 2/3 of the patients had an observed reduction in seizure frequency (399/622, 64%), with individual studies rate ranging between 37 and 89% (Table 2; Figure 2). Notably, 6 out of 11 studies showed over 80% of the patients reporting improvement. There was a higher number of patients reporting improvement after using CBD-rich Cannabis extracts (318/447, 71%) than those treated with purified CBD (81/223, 36%), with valid statistical significance (p < 0.0001).

The authors of the report also concluded that “Apparently, CBD-rich Cannabis extracts are more potent and have a better safety profile (but not higher efficacy) than products with purified CBD.” So, there you have it, the products in our store are more beneficial, and likely cheaper than isolates.

CBD and Schizophrenia

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that is debilitating. People diagnosed with schizophrenia may seem to others to have lost touch with reality and suffer from many hallucinations and delusions. In a study published in December of 2017,

After 6 weeks of treatment, compared with the placebo group, the CBD group had lower levels of positive psychotic symptoms (PANSS: treatment difference=−1.4, 95% CI=−2.5, −0.2) and were more likely to have been rated as improved (CGI-I: treatment difference=−0.5, 95% CI=−0.8, −0.1) and as not severely unwell (CGI-S: treatment difference=−0.3, 95% CI=−0.5, 0.0) by the treating clinician.

The authors of the report also concluded that “These findings suggest that CBD has beneficial effects in patients with schizophrenia. As CBD’s effects do not appear to depend on dopamine receptor antagonism, this agent may represent a new class of treatment for the disorder.”

CBD and Anxiety

Everyone goes through some sort of anxiety in life, but some people have severe anxiety which can be debilitating and sometimes life-threatening. There have been many pharmaceuticals on the market, such as Zoloft, but they always have side-effects and create more problems. A holistic approach to anxiety is welcomed, and research is showing that CBD can help. A study published in March of 2017 stated,

Studies show that cannabidiol, the main non-psychotomimetic phytocannabinoid found in Cannabis sativa, reduces anxiety via 5-HT1A and (indirect) cannabinoid receptor activation in paradigms assessing innate responses to threat. There is also accumulating evidence from animal studies investigating the effects of cannabidiol on fear memory processing indicating that it reduces learned fear in paradigms that are translationally relevant to phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder. Cannabidiol does so by reducing fear expression acutely and by disrupting fear memory reconsolidation and enhancing fear extinction, both of which can result in a lasting reduction of learned fear. Recent studies have also begun to elucidate the effects of cannabidiol on drug memory expression using paradigms with translational relevance to addiction. The findings suggest that cannabidiol reduces the expression of drug memories acutely and by disrupting their reconsolidation. Here, we review the literature demonstrating the anxiolytic effects of cannabidiol before focusing on studies investigating its effects on various fear and drug memory processes. Understanding how cannabidiol regulates emotion and emotional memory processing may eventually lead to its use as a treatment for anxiety-related and substance abuse disorders.

Many people have reported immediate effects of CBD in regards to reducing anxiety. The rule is that the more severe the symptoms, the higher dosage that is needed. Is there any other compound that can claim such overarching healing of many different ailmentsExosomes and microvesicles (EMV)?

CBD and Cancer Cells

Cancer is a terrible disease that affects many families. Despite years of research, science is unable to find a complete cure. However, CBD is showing to be a promising compound in the fight against cancer. Some cancer cells emit what science calls Exosomes and microvesicles (EMV). Apparently, EMVs renders these cancer cells immune to chemotherapy. A recent study shows that CBD inhibits EMV release in cancer, making the cells more sensitive to chemotherapy. An excerpt of the abstract states,

Cannabidiol (CBD), a phytocannabinoid derived from Cannabis sativa, has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, and displays anti-proliferative activity. Here we report a novel role for CBD as a potent inhibitor of EMV release from three cancer cell lines: prostate cancer (PC3), hepatocellular carcinoma (HEPG2) and breast adenocarcinoma (MDA-MB-231). CBD significantly reduced exosome release in all three cancer cell lines, and also significantly, albeit more variably, inhibited microvesicle release. The EMV modulating effects of CBD were found to be dose dependent (1 and 5 μM) and cancer cell type specific. Moreover, we provide evidence that this may be associated with changes in mitochondrial function, including modulation of STAT3 and prohibitin expression, and that CBD can be used to sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapy. We suggest that the known anti-cancer effects of CBD may partly be due to the regulatory effects on EMV biogenesis, and thus CBD poses as a novel and safe modulator of EMV-mediated pathological events.

Cannabidiol is truly amazing. It’s no wonder that the industry is projected to be worth $2.1 billion by 2020.

CBD and Arthritis

Upon reaching old age, many individuals suffer from osteoarthritis (OA), which is a degenerative disease affecting joints. Symptoms include extreme pain and discomfort, and there has been a recent study on rats suffering from OA. The abstract of the study states,

In end-stage OA, CBD dose-dependently decreased joint afferent firing rate, and increased withdrawal threshold and weight bearing (P < 0.0001; n = 8). Acute, transient joint inflammation was reduced by local CBD treatment (P < 0.0001; n = 6). Prophylactic administration of CBD prevented the development of MIA-induced joint pain at later time points (P < 0.0001; n = 8), and was also found to be neuroprotective (P < 0.05; n = 6-8). The data presented here indicate that local administration of CBD blocked OA pain. Prophylactic CBD treatment prevented the later development of pain and nerve damage in these OA joints. These findings suggest that CBD may be a safe, useful therapeutic for treating OA joint neuropathic pain.

This is excellent news for sufferers of OA pain. Yes, the medicinal benefits of CBD are unbelievable. But even more unbelievable is that the federal government still classifies CBD as a Schedule I drug despite all this medicinal evidence, or is it?

More studies are being done to find out how else to use CBD for its powerful anti-inflammatory effects. One thing is for sure though, CBD-rich extracts work better than CBD isolates, meaning the whole plant is needed for maximum therapeutic benefits.

The CBD Online Store is committed to increasing awareness of the medicinal benefits of CBD. All of our CBD products have been vetted by us and are verified for purity and potency by 3rd party laboratories.